W.We open on a talk show in Las Vegas, Oops, You Did it Again. Hosted by Brittney Spears (Chloe Feinman), who we all know from her ‘upbeat Instagram videos and the word’ conservatorship ‘, the show is a forum for public apologies.
After a well-deserved potshot at Justin Timberlake, Spears welcomes her first guest: Ted Cruz (Aidy Bryant). Playing Cornrows out and drinking a piña colada, admits the Texas senator, who was caught vacationing in Cancun this week amid his state’s energy crisis – and who blamed the whole thing on his young daughters – admits: “I is in a little bit of hot water, that’s something I don’t think people in Texas have. “
Spears then welcomes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson), who reluctantly apologizes for “things in the nursing home.” It pains him to eat crow, and he hits a breaking point when he learns Mayor Bill DeBlasio thinks he should be investigated. Still, Cuomo is certainly not as pathetic as Cruz, whose condolences he brutally rejects: “Don’t. Associate yourself. With me. I’m a man. You’re a clown. If you play with me, I’ll send you to a clown hospital. And if you die, I won’t count your body. “
The latest is Mandalorian actor Gina Carano (Cecily Strong), let go of the Disney show for comparing criticism of conservatives with Nazi persecution, among other things. She snorts and huffs about canceling culture, asking why Disney has the right to take the moral high ground: “Did you hear Brer Rabbit’s accent on the Splash Mountain ride?” This is a good point, but it feels a long way off coming from Carano. Regardless, even she doesn’t want anything to do with Cruz and tells him, “Don’t. Associate yourself. With me.”
The show gets points for going with an original cold open lineup, as well as its mercilessness towards Cruz. That said, the constant breaking of the plaster hampers things. Nothing is Which funny.
Our host is Bridgerton actor Regé-Jean Page. After a quick reference to Ray Jay Johnson who I assume went over the heads of his fans, he fends off the female cast. They’re all obsessed with the sexual dynamo he plays in the hit Netflix costume drama, though Aidy Bryant assures him, “We definitely have other sketch ideas where you’re not just an extremely hot sex guy.” SNL has shown a tendency to rely too much on the hotness of hosts – see the recent episodes of Jason Momoa and Jennifer Lopez, both horrible.
In Actor’s Spotlight, two black British actors – Kingsley Ben-Adir (Page) and Daniel Kaluuya (Chris Redd) – join Ice Cube (Keenan Thompson) to discuss their new films. Cube tries to capitalize on critical love by pretending to be British too, claiming, “My name is not an Ice Cube in Britain, it’s Coldy Squares.” Nobody buys it until Hugh Grant (Alex Moffat) shows up and recognizes him from the old neighborhood.
After a short rap from Ego Nwodim, Davidson and musical guest Bad Bunny about going crazy during quarantine, a game of pool in the bar is interrupted when a player sets up Olivia Rodrigo’s driver’s license. The guests all make fun of the song, but eventually reveal that they are huge fans. In-depth discussions about the intricate backstory and memories of their own heartbreak led the male cast to join “the bridge of our lives.”
Then Page interviews for a job with an ad company that works based on specifications, coming up with slogans for brands that haven’t asked for them. Disastrous examples include “Charmin – Use After Pooping!”, “Legos – Bet You Can’t Eat One And!” and “Netflix – We Now Have Porn!”. As funny as the ads are, and no matter how good the interaction between Page and Beck Bennet’s aloof boss, the funniest part is a recurring joke in which Bowen Yang’s haunted assistant hands over the two strange notes that read ‘We’re losing millions’,’ They have your daughter ‘,’ your mom is topless in the lobby ‘and simply’ hello ‘. A bit overcrowded, this wacky pre-filmed segment is still one of the best of the season.
Bad Bunny takes the stage next to Rosalia for a steamy duet on La Noche de Anoche. During Weekend Update, Colin Jost kicks things off by hammering Cruz, noting “if you hate Ted Cruz, this is a pretty fun week … and if you like Ted Cruz, well, you’re probably Ted Cruz . ” Michel Che notes that the winter storm has produced “most of the snow seen in Texas since Michael Irvine’s Super Bowl party.”
Jost welcomes ‘relationship expert’ Davidson to discuss the ‘first and hopefully last’ Valentine’s Day of the pandemic. Davidson recounts how he spent the vacation watching the Britney Spears doc with his mother, which convinced him to finally move and get his own home.
“My mom is a lot like this show,” he explains. “Whatever I do, I am never asked to leave.”
After doing a few more digs at Cruz and Cuomo (and joking about the fact that Israel is only vaccinating its Jewish population, which is sure to generate backlash), Che welcomes Jessie Rauch (Heidi Gardner), a community activist who is food insecure. want to discuss. She doesn’t get the chance, because Che can’t get over dressed like Freddy Krueger. I’m not sure what the point or punch line to this was, but Gardner’s silly charm keeps it from totally fueling.
A History Channel show looks at sea shanties. A whaling crew sings one and quickly reveals that no one knows what they are doing and they are all doomed: “Yoho, we’re never going home / We’re stuck here and we’re all alone!” The funniest part is a short aside in which the crew describes to a new sailor their various ‘sea women’ – a whale’s blowhole, a blanket tucked into a barrel, two jellyfish tied together, and their hands.
An encounter between new neighboring families, one white and the other black, sees them make a grace-off and try to resolve each other through the gospel. You keep waiting for things to take a dark or uncomfortable turn, but everything remains surprisingly sweet. Kudos to Bennett, who shows off some seriously impressive dances.
On Bridgerton’s set, Page and a costar are about to film a sex scene, but the intimacy coordinator is sick. Her replacements are two garbage bags (Davidson and Mikey Day) who have no idea what they’re doing or even what the show is about – they seem to think it’s incest. The setup promises something edgy or daring, but unfortunately just meanders.
Bad Bunny returns and plays Te Deseo Lo Mejor. Wrestling fans will get a kick out of him proudly wearing the WWE 24/7 Championship belt, which he recently won. I imagine non-wrestling fans will just get confused.
The final sketch of the evening is a video clip set in a supermarket, in which a groggy trio of ironic white rappers are constantly interrupted and ashamed for not wearing masks. It ends with them being teased and addressed by the manager.
There was a noticeable patchwork quality to most of the sketches tonight, but that wasn’t always a bad thing. It even led to many unexpectedly funny moments. It also made excellent use of Page’s musical skills and Bad Bunny’s decent comedic chops, resulting in a lively, enjoyable episode.